Regional climate models provided precipitation and temperature time series for control (1961-1990) and scenario (2071-2100) periods. At southern Portugal, the climate models in the control period systematically present higher temperatures and lower precipitation than the observations. Therefore, the direct input of climate model data into hydrological models might result in more severe scenarios for future water availability. Three bias correction methods (Delta Change, Direct Forcing and Hybrid) are analysed and their performances in water availability impact studies are assessed.

The Delta Change method assumes that the observed series variability is maintained in the scenario period and is corrected by the evolution predicted by the climate models. The Direct Forcing method maintains the scenario series variability, which is corrected by the bias found in the control period, and the Hybrid method maintains the control model series variability, which is corrected by the bias found in the control period and by the evolution predicted by the climate models.

To assess the climate impacts in the water resources expected for the scenario period, a physically based spatially distributed hydrological model, SHETRAN, is used for runoff projections in a southern Portugal basin. The annual and seasonal runoff shows a runoff decrease in the scenario period, increasing the water shortage that is already experienced. The overall annual reduction varies between -80% and -35%. In general, the results show that the runoff reductions obtained with climate models corrected with the Delta Change method are highest but with a narrow range that varies between -80% and -52%.

This study evaluates climate change potential impacts on irrigated agriculture in the Guadiana river basin, in the south of Portugal, by running long-term soil water balance simulations using the ISAREG model and taking into consideration the maximum potential yield. The ISAREG simulations were focused in a set of the most locally representative crops to assess the evolution of net and total water requirements, considering a monthly time step for two 30-year future periods,(2011–2040) and (2041–2070).

Reference evapotranspiration was estimated using the temperature-based Hargreaves–Samani equation, and the simulations were performed using, as inputs, a combination of five climate change scenarios built using the Ensemble-Delta technique fromCMIP3 climateprojectionsdatasets to setdifferent alternative climate change bracketing conditions for rainfall and air temperature.Water balance outputs for different climate scenarios were combined with four agricultural scenarios allowing for the estimation of total irrigation requirements.

A general increase in crop irrigation requirements was estimated, mainly for those crops as maize, pasture, and orchards that are already big irrigation water consumers. Crops as olive groves and vineyards, well adapted to the Mediterranean conditions, show less sensitivity to climate change. The combined results of crop irrigation requirements for climate change and agricultural scenarios allow for the expectation of sustainability for the agricultural scenarios A and C, essentially defined by the complete use of the irrigation network and systems currently being constructed with the Alqueva project, but not for the ambitious irrigation area expanding scenario B.

Respiration traits allow calculating temperature-dependent carbon use efficiency and prediction of growth rates.

This protocol aims

(1) to enable validation of respiration traits as non-DNA biomarkers for breeding on robust plants in support of sustainable and healthy plant production;

(2) to provide an efficient, novel way to identify and predict functionality of DNA-based markers (genes, polymorphisms, edited genes, transgenes, genomes, and hologenomes), and

(3) to directly help farmers select robust material appropriate for a specified region.

The protocol is based on applying isothermal calorespirometry and consists of four steps: plant tissue preparation, calorespirometry measurements, data processing, and final validation through massive field-based data.The methodology can serve selection and improvement for a wide range of crops. Several of them are currently being tested in the author's lab. Among them are important cereals, such as wheat, barley, and rye, and diverse vegetables. However, it is critical that the protocol for measuring respiration traits be well adjusted to the plant species by considering deep knowledge on the specific physiology and functional cell biology behind the final target trait for production.

Here, Daucus carota L. is chosen as an advanced example to demonstrate critical species-specific steps for protocol development. Carrot is an important global vegetable that is grown worldwide and in all climate regions (moderate, subtropical, and tropical). Recently, this species is also used in my lab as a model for studies on alternative oxidase (AOX) gene diversity and evolutionary dynamics in interaction with endophytes.

Reservoirs often play an important role in mitigating water supply problems. However, the implications of climate change are not always considered in reservoir planning and management. This study aimed to address this challenge in the Alto Sabor watershed, northeast Portugal.

The study analysed whether or not the shortage of water supply can be effectively addressed through the construction of a new reservoir (two-reservoir system) by considering future climate projections. The hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was calibrated and validated against daily-observed discharge and reservoir volume, with a good agreement between model predictions and observations.

Outputs from four General Circulation Models (GCM) for two scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) were statistically downscaled and bias-corrected with ground observations. A general increase in temperature is expected in the future while the change in precipitation is more uncertain as per the differences among climatic models. In general, annual precipitation would slightly decrease while seasonal changes would be more significant, with more precipitation in winter and much less in spring and summer. SWAT simulations suggest that the existence of two-reservoir will better solve the water supply problems under current climate conditions compared to a single-reservoir system.

However in the future, the reliability of this solution will decrease, especially due to the variability of projections from the different climatic models. The solution to water supply problems in this region, adopted taking only present-day climate into account, will likely be inefficient for water supply management under future climate conditions.

A fenotipagem de alto débito permite identificar parâmetros funcionais diretamente relacionados com o comportamento varietal em condições de stress climático. É uma ferramenta importante no moderno melhoramento de plantas uma vez que permite complementar os critérios habitualmente utilizados, aumentando a eficiência de seleção.

To identify the world's severely drought-prone areas, given that the corresponding ground area for a 0.5-degree grid in different latitudes is different, we proposed a more precise spherical area-based statistical method. The corresponding ground area per 0.5-degree grid is obtained by integral calculation in latitude and longitude directions. The analysis of the drought based on the global Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index dataset from 1902 to 2008, where global, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and major crop-planting regions from six continents are treated as statistical units.

The interannual variability characteristics of the severe drought area for each statistical unit are investigated. To study the spatial distribution characteristics of the global frequency of severe drought, the drought frequency was calculated based on drought events identified by continuous drought months on a grid level. Six major crops (wheat, maize, rice, soybean, barley, and sorghum) were chosen to study the impact of drought events on agriculture.

The results suggested that severe droughts in global, Northern Hemisphere, and Southern Hemisphere areas have indicated a downward trend since 1990, but an upward trend overall in all continents except Oceania. The identified drought-prone areas show a patchy distribution and frequently drought-prone areas (with 10-20% occurrence probability of drought) were distributed in regions surrounding chronically drought-prone areas (with more than 20% probability). Global chronically drought-prone areas have increased significantly, from 16.19% in 1902-1949 to 41.09% in 1950-2008. Chronically drought-prone areas of agriculture are located in the center of southern Europe, South America, and eastern Asia.

The impacts of agricultural land use are far-reaching and extend to areas outside production. This paper provides an overview of the ecological status of agricultural systems across the European Union in the light of recent policy changes. It builds on the previous review of 2001 devoted to the impacts of agricultural intensification in Western Europe. The focus countries are the UK, The Netherlands, Boreal and Baltic countries, Portugal, Hungary and Romania, representing a geographical spread across Europe, but additional reference is made to other countries.

Despite many adjustments to agricultural policy, intensification of production in some regions and concurrent abandonment in others remain the major threat to the ecology of agro-ecosystems impairing the state of soil, water and air and reducing biological diversity in agricultural landscapes. The impacts also extend to surrounding terrestrial and aquatic systems through water and aerial contamination and development of agricultural infrastructures (e.g. dams and irrigation channels). Improvements are also documented regionally, such as successful support of farmland species, and improved condition of watercourses and landscapes.

This was attributed to agricultural policy targeted at the environment, improved environmental legislation, and new market opportunities. Research into ecosystem services associated with agriculture may provide further pressure to develop policy that is targeted at their continuous provisioning, fostering motivation of land managers to continue to protect and enhance them.

Os programas de melhoramento genético desenvolvidos pela Embrapa e parceiros contribuíram significativamente para os principais avanços qualitativos e quantitativos obtidos pela agricultura brasileira nos últimos 40 anos. Neste artigo, apresenta-se uma visão da diversidade de espécies e múltiplos objetivos estabelecidos por esses programas, ressaltando algumas contribuições da instituição para o setor agrícola.

Apresenta-se ainda uma discussão sobre o impacto econômico, social e ambiental das cultivares lançadas pela Embrapa no mercado brasileiro, assim como uma análise do papel da instituição no melhoramento de cultivares no presente e no futuro. Os riscos, oportunidades e desafios para o trabalho de melhoramento genético vegetal são discutidos, considerando as mudanças recentes e as inovações observadas no mercado de sementes no Brasil.

Cover crops have long been touted for their ability to reduce erosion, fix atmospheric nitrogen, reduce nitrogen leaching, and improve soil health. In recent decades, there has been resurgence in cover crop adoption that is synchronous with a heightened awareness of climate change. Climate change mitigation and adaptation may be additional, important ecosystem services provided by cover crops, but they lie outside of the traditional list of cover cropping benefits.

Here, we review the potential for cover crops to mitigate climate change by tallying all of the positive and negative impacts of cover crops on the net global warming potential of agricultural fields. Then, we use lessons learned from two contrasting regions to evaluate how cover crops affect adaptive management for precipitation and temperature change.

Three key outcomes from this synthesis are:

(1) Cover crop effects on greenhouse gas fluxes typically mitigate warming by ~100 to 150 g CO2 e/m2/year, which is higher than mitigation from transitioning to no-till. The most important terms in the budget are soil carbon sequestration and reduced fertilizer use after legume cover crops.

(2) The surface albedo change due to cover cropping, calculated for the first time here using case study sites in central Spain and Pennsylvania, USA, may mitigate 12 to 46 g CO2 e/m2/year over a 100-year time horizon.

And (3) Cover crop management can also enable climate change adaptation at these case study sites, especially through reduced vulnerability to erosion from extreme rain events, increased soil water management options during droughts or periods of soil saturation, and retention of nitrogen mineralized due to warming.

Overall, we found very few tradeoffs between cover cropping and climate change mitigation and adaptation, suggesting that ecosystem services that are traditionally expected from cover cropping can be promoted synergistically with services related to climate change.

The importance of viticulture and of the winemaking socioeconomic sector in Europe is largely acknowledged. The most famous winemaking regions in Europe commonly present very specific environmental characteristics, where climate often plays a central role. Furthermore, given the strong influence of the atmospheric factors on this crop, climate change can significantly affect yield and wine quality under future conditions. Trends recorded in the recent past on many viticultural regions in Europe hint at an already pronounced increase in the growing-season mean temperatures.

Furthermore, climate- change projections give evidence for significant changes in both the growing- season temperatures and precipitations in the next decades. Although grapevines have several survival strategies, the mounting evidence for significant climate change in the upcoming decades urges adaptation and mitigation measures to be taken by the whole winemaking sector. Short-term adaptation measures can be considered as a first protection strategy and should be focused at specific threats, mostly changes in crop-management practices (e.g., irrigation, sunscreens for leaf protection).

At long term, however, a wide range of adaptation measures should be considered (e.g., varietal and land allocation changes). An overview of the current scientific knowledge, mostly concerning the European viticulture, the potential climate change impacts, and feasible adaptation measures is provided herein.